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Vote, vote, vote!

Fri, 11/04/2016 - 4:57pmadmin

By:

Nancy L. McGuire

We can vote. This was not always so.

It took a lot of work, but finally in 1920, the 19th amendment to the U. S. Constitution ended denial of some women’s right to vote—but it left out some women. It took a lot of work but finally, two years later, in 1922, Alaska Native women and men were no longer denied the right to vote, but it came with other discrimination.
“Wear Western clothing, don’t eat Indian foods, don’t speak Indian languages and live apart from Native villages,” and you can vote, people were told.

In some places today, in our own country, powerful politicians and those under their spells are still trying to make voting difficult. Folks need specific ID cards. In large population areas, folks bent on voting stand in line waiting for hours to get a ballot and a booth.

It is different in Nome. One needs only to go to Old St. Joe’s to the polling place. Celebrating our right to vote takes only a few minutes.

Let’s celebrate and preserve our right to vote by voting in the 2016 presidential election next Tuesday, Nov. 8. This is a controversial election. Folks will be very happy or unhappy with the outcome. But if you didn’t vote . . .